BIRTHDAY TREATS

 What do I want for my birthday? No chocolate, thank you very much. No cake, no steak. No fancy dinner out. For the same money we would pay at a fine dining establishment, I can buy myself a day’s worth of treats. And, so I did.

These are a few of my favorite things. I adore lamb, so that’s what I want for a main course. Roasted medium-rare, please. My second choice is a toss-up--magret de pato, duck breast; a whole, roasted fish such as mero, grouper; or perhaps a succulent piece of fresh ibérico pork.

For starters, I’ve got a real luxury, zambuiñas, very small scallops (Chlamys varia). But, on my splurge shopping spree, I couldn’t resist buying jumbo shrimp (langostino) as well (one shrimp cost $10.00!), so I´m having that for lunch and the scallops with dinner.

I´m also resist treating myself to ibérico ham, so with toast and tomatoes, that’s my birthday breakfast.

A “few of my favorite things” from the song sound pretty good too—“crisp apple strudels and schnitzel with noodles.” But, for dessert, I’ve got, not strudel, but my beloved raspberries. 

Breakfast--sunshine, flowers, clementine juice with bubbly cava and ibérico ham on toasts with olive oil and tomatoes.

This ibérico ham is from a packet, not sliced to order. Still pretty delicious. 

Lunch--jumbo grilled shrimp and a glass of cava. 

Jumbo shrimp is chewy, so flavorful. With a sauce made from the shrimp roe.

Copita of cava. I buy a 3-pack of benjamínes, small bottles.

To finish off the cava--a sauce for the zamburiñas, small scallops. What a treat.

Zamburiñas are exceptionally flavorful.

Dinner--tender lamb, roasted potatoes, zucchini and tomato mélange, red tempranillo.

Capers add zest to pan gravy.

Sauce for Shellfish

Salsa para Mariscos

Jumbo tiger shrimp has dark-colored roe.

Roe turns pink when cooked.

When I split the jumbo tiger shrimp open, I discovered a thick line of dark “gunk” inside the shell and head. I scooped it out and poached it one minute. The gunk turned bright pink, like lobster coral. This flavorful stuff mixed with mayonnaise and lemon makes the sauce for the grilled shrimp. 

2 tablespoons cooked shellfish coral roe

1 tablespoon chopped scallions

1 tablespoon grated tomato

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/8 teaspoon smoked pimentón picante (hot paprika)

Salt

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Keep covered and refrigerated up to two days.

Scallops in Cava Sauce

Zamburiñas en Salsa de Cava

Zamburiñas are small scallops. (The larger ones are called vieiras.) These are raw.

The scallops can be prepared in advance and reheated under a broiler until they are lightly browned.

Serves 2.

8 small scallops (about 4 ounces shelled)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 shallot, chopped

2 tablespoons grated tomato pulp

¼ cup cava or white wine

¼ cup cream

Salt

Pinch of hot pimentón or cayenne

If scallops are small, leave them whole. If very large, cut them in half. Brush a heavy skillet or grill pan with oil. Sear the scallops on all sides and remove them

Add remaining oil to the skillet. Add the shallot and sauté for 2 minutes, without letting them brown. Add the tomato pulp and cook 2 minutes. Add the cava and let the alcohol cook off. Add the cream. Season with salt to taste and pimentón. Cook gently until the sauce is slightly reduced and thickened, 2 minutes. 

Return the scallops to the sauce and heat gently. Divide the scallops and sauce between two shells or ramekins.

Caper Marinade for Lamb

Adobo con Alcaparras para Cordero

The brine in a jar of capers is a flavorful marinade for meat. Use some of the capers as well.  

Caper brine and herbs.

Fresh thyme

Fresh rosemary

¼ cup chopped parsley

4 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup caper juice + a few capers

Strip the leaves from the stems of the thyme and rosemary. Add the leaves to a mini-processor with the parsley and garlic. Process until finely chopped. Add the oil, lemon juice, pepper and caper juice and process again. 

Roast Leg of Lamb with Caper Gravy

Pierna de Cordero Asada

This is spring lamb (recental), not baby lamb (lechal). I had the shank (jarrete) removed. The remaining leg weighed in at 4 pounds. It was done to medium-rare in about 65 minutes, but roasting time will vary depending on size of the piece of meat. 

Marinate the meat overnight or about 8 hours. 

1 leg of lamb, about 4 pounds

Caper marinade

1 cup water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon capers

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Remove and discard excess fat from the piece of meat, but leave the “skin” or covering membrane. Spread the marinade on all sides of the meat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours.

Unwrap the meat and bring it to room temperature. Do not remove the marinade. Preheat oven to 400ºF. 

Roast the lamb with the marinade for 20 minutes. Pour ½ cup of the water around the meat and lower the oven temperature to 350ºF. Roast 30 minutes longer. Test for doneness. (Medium-rare should register 145ºF when tested with an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the meat.) Return the lamb to the oven until the it reaches desired doneness.

Allow roasted meat to stand 10 minutes before carving.

Remove the meat to a cutting board.

Drain all of the pan juices into a saucepan. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch with the remaining ½ cup of water. Stir until it is smooth. Stir the mixture into the pan and cook on moderate heat until the gravy is thickened and beginning to bubble. Stir in the lemon juice, capers and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the gravy alongside the meat.